Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) recently joined forces with the Irving-based Javelin Agency for a day of service at Bird’s Fort Trail Park, part of Irving’s northern Campion Trails system. The group of eleven employee volunteers met at the park on the beautiful morning of February 8, ready to make a difference. After receiving their supplies – which included trash and recycle bags, litter pickers, and safety vests - and hearing a safety speech, the group set out to pick up litter. They focused on the areas where recent rains had caused the river to rise, leaving behind litter along the banks once the water had receded. They teamed together to be of maximum efficiency, working their way north along the trails. After logging twenty-two hours of volunteer service, they also helped to weigh and record the amounts collected, which came to 75.5 pounds of trash and 43.5 pounds of recyclables, the majority of that being plastic bottles. KIB worked closely with the Parks Department in this project to reserve the area and provide logistic support.

The KIB cleanup was part of “Javelin Giving Day,” which offered employees from the Irving headquarters as well as the New York and California offices an opportunity to give back by participating in their choice of service projects in their respective locations. While the KIB team was cleaning the Campion Trails, other groups were partnering with non-profits in activities ranging from walking dogs to serving meals.

KIB Board Member Karen Harmon had this to say about the event: “We are seeing more and more of this type of activity in our corporate community, where a company focuses on giving back to the community where they are located. Service days like this are a great opportunity for employees to get out of their normal work environment, perhaps work with different people, and in this case, getting outdoors and enjoying nature. We appreciate the great effort by the Javelin employees here at Bird’s Fort Trail.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of our city including government, business, church, cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. If you are interested in volunteering with KIB, or making your activity a “green event,” please go to Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.